


Lagè ak Lanfè ap Vini

by TheWholeDamnTime



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Epilogue, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-09 02:58:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3233729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWholeDamnTime/pseuds/TheWholeDamnTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation of American Horror Story: Coven</p><p>I wrote this one up a while ago, and decided to re-open it this week. There're six already-written chapters and then I'm currently working on writing more. Hope you all enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’d been two days since the doors were opened, and the academy was still sorting out the want-to-be applicants from the real witches.

“Name?” Zoe asked as the applicant practically had to climb onto the chair.

“Ida Applewood,” replied the young girl. She couldn’t be over five, with tiny little braids hanging from either side of a baby-round face. Her swinging feet rustled the fluffy skirt of a springtime dress, dyed black. She could see a little spot of missed flower print on the sleeve.

“Okay, Ida.” Zoe glanced up to see a thin, willowy figure in the doorway, large sunglasses covering her eyes and emotions. The mother. “What made you think you were a witch?” The little girl glanced back at her mother for the okay. Slowly, her mother dipped her head.

“…I can see them,” she whispered.

“See who?” Zoe asked softly. She watched as the girl’s eyes darted around the room.

“I can see them. The old butler who plays with dolls. He greeted me when I came in. He said that he had an attic of dollies and he would like to have a tea party some time.” Zoe’s eyes widened. “And then when we passed the greenhouse, a curly-haired girl with the shawl was playing with a baby gator, singing about Rhiannon, whoever that is.”

“Okay that’s enough,” the council member said kindly. Instead of refocusing, though, the girl’s eyes suddenly darted behind her.

“Hello, lady.” Zoe looked behind her. No one was there.

“Who is it?” she questioned the young witch.

“She says her name is Anna Leigh Leighton. That’s a pretty name.” There was a pause. “You’re welcome.” She glanced back at Zoe. “She says she was the Supreme before this Supreme’s mother. She said to thank Cordelia for righting this coven.” She tilted her head. “Mrs. Leighton has to go now, but she says that she’ll be around. Bye-bye, Mrs. Leighton.” Her eyes followed a figure Zoe couldn’t see to the door, and then fixed on the council member again. “I am a witch, right?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure you are,” whispered Zoe. Quickly, she looked up at the mother, whose face remained passive. “As her mother, you should sign these papers giving us guardianship over her. All the parents have to do this, simply so that we can take care of the girls. You are still their primary guardian and can request that they come home at any time, but in order for them to live most of their lives with us, we need to make sure that-” The mother shook her head and held up a hand, cutting her off.

“Just get her out of my house,” she hissed, signing the papers and walking off without a second glance.

* * *

 

“Name?” Zoe asked from behind the main desk. A chair was set up in front of the area and various notebooks and pens were scattered about, both on the piece of furniture and around the floor.

“Kiana Raven.” The girl had artificially dyed black streaks in blonde hair, creating a sharp contrast to her pale skin. She had a tattoo of a raven on her right shoulder and black eyes thickly lined with make-up, though Zoe was pretty sure that they were just contacts.

“Okay, Kia-” Before she could continue, the girl cut her off.

“Raven. I don’t go by my first name.”

“Alright, then Raven. What made you realize that you’re a witch?”

“I killed a man.”

“How does this mean you’re a witch?”

“I pulverized his flesh to make a paste and applied it to my skin. I’m a witch now.” Zoe frowned.

“I’m afraid that ground flesh doesn’t make you a witch. Being a witch is something hereditary, and-”

“ ** _I am a witch!_** ”

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“ ** _Accept me as your sister! I am one of you!!!_** ” It was the last straw. Zoe stood up, slammed her palm on the table, and screamed right back at her.

“ ** _Leave!_** ” With one hand, she made a shoving motion, throwing Raven like a rag doll through the doors and into the hall. Kyle took it from there.

Nobody ever claimed or identified the body hanging from the tree in central park.

Being an open coven meant that they attracted their fair share of nutters, too.

* * *

 

Zoe collapsed onto the big, soft bed, limbs sprawled over the clean sheets. The day had been filled with imposters, wishing they were witches, and girls whose powers had almost frightened her. _Too much,_ she thought, _but just one more day_. She, Cordelia, and Queenie had sorted out thirty real witches from the hordes of imposters so far, and fifty more girls still had to go through the application process. _One more day_.

She heard the door open and Kyle walked in, throwing his jacket onto the corner of the bed. His hands fumbled at his tie and she sat up, gently un-doing the knots for him as he sat down next to her.

“Hey,” he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She put the tie down next to the jacket and kissed him on the nose.

“Hey.” The word was breathy and quiet as it fell from lipstick-red lips. He kissed her, and she leaned into him, loving his warmth, his love. His hand brushed over her hair and she let her arms hang over his shoulders, her hands clasping each other behind his neck. Their bodies shifted so that she was sitting on his lap, legs wrapped around his middle. Kyle held her tight to him, and she held him to her. In a sudden motion, he picked her up and lay her back on the middle of the bed, kissing her harder than before. His hands traveled, and she felt herself involuntarily stiffen. “Not tonight,” she whispered, voice hitching. “We don’t want to scare the girls with our creaking and moaning.” She hoped she sounded convincing, but his hands left her clothes alone and instead moved up to caress her face as he kissed her again.

“Okay,” he whispered, his lips moving on hers.

When they lay together later that night, his body curled protectively around hers, his breath tickled her ear and she heard, “More happy love. More happy, happy love,” before drifting off into a soft slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

She woke the next morning with an empty space next to her. On the nightstand, a note read, _Making breakfast for everyone. See you when you wake up. –Kyle_

Dressing herself for the day, she hurried down the stairs to find about twenty of the girls eating in various locations around the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Most had a bleary, sleepy look about them, but a few were awake and chattering. Kyle was scrambling some eggs and a fruit salad was already in a bowl on the counter.

“Morning,” she said, holding out a platter for him to dump the eggs on.

“Morning,” he replied, kissing her lightly on the lips before emptying the contents of the pan. Before she could even set it alongside the fruit salad, he was breaking more eggs for the next batch. “I haven’t even fed half of them yet,” he told her, pouring more eggs into the pan with a sizzling sound, “It’s so much crazier than when it was just, like, five of us at most.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, throwing some bread in the toaster. “Maybe we could get you some help.” The buzzer went off. With one hand, Zoe buttered the toast, and the other causing the bread to fly from the bag and into slots on the toaster. “There have to be a few of the girls who enjoy cooking. Or we could make it a chore. There’s too much stuff for you to do alone.” Suddenly, a large Bengal tiger cub jumped onto the main table.

“Hey! Amelia! No transformations during breakfast! And not in the kitchen, either!” cried Zoe. The cat mewed and tilted its head. “Don’t tell me you’re stuck,” she groaned. Another mew, this time with a low-hanging head. “Oh my god,” she sighed. Then, she opened up her arms. “Come on, you. Let’s go find Cordelia.” The cub snuggled up in her arms.

“Sorry, I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Later, love,” Kyle said with a small smile.

Cordelia was in the greenhouse, staring at a small flowering bush. As Zoe watched, she reached into an urn and began to scatter ashes around its roots, whispering as she did so. The pair in the doorway watched as small tears began to trickle down the Supreme’s face, landing on the leaves of the plant. When she had finished spreading the grey over the roots, she dusted off her hands. Then, a small vial was poured onto the light dust.

When she seemed to be done, Zoe stepped forward.

“Cordelia?” Quickly, the Supreme dried her eyes and composed herself.

“Yes, Zoe?”

“Well, Amelia turned herself into a tiger and can’t shift back… Again.” Tiger-Amelia made an ashamed _mrrr_ sound.

“Well,” Cordelia sighed, a small smile on her face, “Can’t have that, now, can we?” Quickly, she began to bustle around the greenhouse, picking leaves or small flowers. She crushed them with a mortar and pestle, then let the small witch-turned-cat lick some of the paste from her fingers. “That will make it easier for you to shift back.” Addressing Zoe, she instructed, “Put her down and give her a minute or two. It should kick in by then.”

“What were you doing here?” Zoe asked.

“Just a little ritual,” Cordelia murmured. “If it worked, then it should have pulled Misty’s soul out of hell.” Zoe’s eyebrows scrunched together. _“…when we passed the greenhouse, a curly-haired girl with the shawl was playing with a baby gator, singing about Rhiannon…”_ her memory echoed.

“Did you try it before this?” The Supreme nodded.

“Two days ago.” Zoe’s mouth fell a little bit.

“Cordelia… I think you might have already done it.” Shock registered on her face and her mouth opened to ask for clarification.

“Hey, look!” squeaked the now-human Amelia. The thirteen year old was dressed in her nightgown, and spun in a happy circle. “I’m back!”

“That’s lovely. Now how about we make our way to the kitchens for breakfast?” Cordelia said with a smile, though her eyes clearly said _you and I are speaking later_.

After breakfast, Zoe met Cordelia in the greenhouses, Ida holding onto Zoe’s skirt from behind. The five year old was nervously chewing at her fingernails, glancing around her in constant little jerks of the head.

“Cordelia, this is Ida Applewood.” The Supreme bent down. “Hello there, Ida. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” the little girl said, “Are you the one that Gator-girl asked about?”

“Ida,” said Zoe, “why don’t you tell Cordelia who Gator-girl is?”

“Gator-girl is the nicest ghost around here. She has curly blonde hair and wears a shawl and beads, like a hippy. She’s really kind, and has this sort of drawl to her voice. Oh, look!” squealed the little girl, pointing at nothing, “She’s here!” Letting go of Zoe’s skirt, she ran and embraced the air. “Hi, Gator-girl!” Giggling like mad, her little body was picked up and spun around, then settled on the floor again. Her head tilted. “Which one?” A pause. “Oh, okay.” Ida ran back to the two older witches and grabbed their thumbs with small hands.

“Can ya’ll see me?” asked the ghost of Misty Day.

* * *

 

Cordelia’s reaction was a mixture of ecstatic screaming and sobbing.

“Hey, look at that. You got your eyes back,” commented a smiling Misty, hand gently brushing the Supreme’s cheek before giving her a hug. She looked the same as the day she had died, with a glowing smile and the floral shawl from Stevie Nicks.

“You’re back,” sniffed Cordelia. “Oh, thank god…” Misty let go and grinned at Cordelia’s happy blubbering.

“What was your hell, Misty?” asked Zoe in a quiet voice. A shadow passed over her face, dropping her smile, and they could see the effect that this had on the girl.

“… It was my seventh year science class… until the teacher actually followed through on his threat.” Zoe nodded. She understood not wanting to disclose everything. She had lied, just so that she wouldn’t have to put it in words.

“Anyways, look at what I found in here,” the ghost said, picking up something from where it nestled on the back of her neck. A baby gator blinked at them, but didn’t move. “Seemed to be just as dead as me, so I took him in.” She rocked the scaly reptile like a baby. “He’s a right sweetheart.” Misty looked at Cordelia, who was still crying.

“Delia? You alright there? C’mon, now, be happy. I’m out of hell, you gotcha’ own little medium here-” Ida and Misty flashed each other a grin, “-and this coven’s looking better than ever! I got good vibes here, don’t kill them, now.”

“Um, speaking of the coven,” interjected Zoe, “we have to be reviewing applicants in five minutes.”

“Well, you guys go on,” said the ghost, patting Cordelia’s arm. “I’ll be here. Ida, you want to take a walk ‘round the gardens with me, now?” The little girl nodded ecstatically and Misty looked back at the Supreme. “Bye,” she said with a smile, and Ida’s hands dropped from theirs to take the hand of what now appeared to be air. Waving behind her, girl and ghost skipped off down the rows of magical plants and herbs.


	3. Chapter 3

“Name?” Zoe asked for what had to be the millionth time.

“River Song,” replied the curly-haired girl in front of her. She looked confident, almost cocky about herself. _Too much Madison_ , Zoe thought.

“And why do you think you’re a witch?”

“I can predict things. I what song was going to come next on the radio, when my friend was going to show up, and whose house my brother would run to.”

“Mhm, divination,” said the council member. “This should be a relatively simple task then. Who did these gloves belong to?” she asked, stripping off the thin black covers and handing them to the girl. For a second, she fingered the fabric.

“The old Supreme.”

“Wrong. Two more tries.” The applicant’s brow furrowed.

“… Your mother?”

“Also incorrect. One more try,” sighed Zoe, wondering if she could just kick out the girl right then and there.

“Your boyfriend!” the girl cried, desperately.

“I’m sorry, but you don’t appear to be a witch. You’ll have to-”

“ _NO!_ ” came the scream. A knife was pulled from a boot, its blade directed at the council member. “My _sister_ got into here, and now you’re saying I’m **_not_**?! Are you _serious_?! You selective **_bitch_**!” she swore and swooped at the witch. Suddenly, Zoe wasn’t in the chair anymore. Instead, she was sitting in the applicant’s chair, just behind the screaming girl.

“Yoo-hoo,” she sang, tapping the girl on the shoulder and transmuting to a spot across the room.

“Listen, now. You _really_ don’t want to do this. I could kill you with a flick of my little finger. My boyfriend would happily smash in your skull, break your neck, or crush your windpipe.” She continued with a little smile. “He’s done all three. Queenie could stab herself and kill you, no damage to her. And you don’t even _want_ to know what the Supreme can do.” The girl rushed at her with the knife again, and Zoe transmuted back to her seat behind the desk.

“Hasty, much? You have two options here. Either you walk your pretty little ass out that door, or we carry your cold, dead corpse out of it. Your choice.” She ducked the knife thrown in her direction, a fresh one pulled out of a new hiding place. “Corpse it is. At least it lets my boyfriend get his anger issues out.”

Kyle ended up dragging her out into the garden and burying her under the rosebush, her legs and arms broken and a gag in her mouth so she wouldn’t scream as they began to fill up the hole.

* * *

 

“Name?” Zoe asked.

“Michelle Chang,” replied the girl. She was around Zoe’s height with long black hair that fell to her waist. Her eyes were grey and stormy, with streaks of green and blue. She wore a silver flower in her hair and a black one-shouldered dress with a belt and flats of the same silver.

“Okay, Michelle.” Zoe glanced up to see a Kyle walking past the doorway and smiled quickly before returning to her work. “What made you think you were a witch?” There was a pause as the girl looked at her lap.

“…I can hear you,” she whispered.

“Hear me?” Zoe asked softly. She watched as the Michelle’s eyes closed and her limbs stilled.  Her head bent forward a little bit and fingers clenched the edges of the seat.

“You are tired. You have been going through applications for hours now, and you want to take a break. You are taken aback. You haven’t seen this since she died, since Nan was drowned by the two evils of different magics. You-” she girl’s voice stumbled a bit, and Zoe quickly interjected.

“Okay that’s enough.” The girl’s eyes opened and her body loosened, quickly becoming more relaxed and calm. The council member then explained, “If you accept your place at the Academy, you will be taken under our care. We can promise that we will protect you to the best of our ability. Do you ha-”

“I’ve got my stuff in the car,” quipped the witch, answering the unspoken.

“Okay, then would you be okay with moving in tonight? Kyle can show you to your room.” Hearing his name, her boyfriend stuck his head around the corner. Suddenly, Michelle jumped up off her chair and froze, looking ready to bolt.

“You…” she whispered, “You were _dead_.” Zoe looked at Kyle’s puzzled face, then back at the frozen form of the applicant.

“It’s all right, plenty of us here were, at some point.” The thin, pointed face shook back and forth slowly.

“There’s something still dead in him.” The grey eyes closed and her right hand rose in front of her, palm facing towards Kyle, fingers uncurled and relaxed. “Something still dead, but it is healed whenever he’s with you. It’s… Something that you do to him… It’s… oh.” Eyes opened again and fixed on the council member.

“His love is dead, and it fixes when he’s with you.” The head tilted to the side. “That’s why he killed all those people, destroyed all those things. He had no love. He had no empathy. But you fix him.” Her face scrunched up again. “No, you fix each other. You fix his love. He fixes your fear.” For a few minutes, the two of them sat around, dumbfounded.

“Kyle, I think we need to get her settled in.” Zoe’s voice came out flat, controlled, and maybe even a little bit scared. “Here’re your papers. I have to deal with the next applicant.” As they left, the witch flicked her fingers and the doors shut behind them, then buried her face in her hands. _Stupid, stupid magic_.

* * *

 

That night, Zoe woke up screaming. She threw the sheets and Kyle’s arm off of her and clawed at her bare skin. Her thrashing woke her boyfriend, who immediately reached out to her as she dissolved into a sobbing mess and pulled her knees in tight to her chest. She knocked away his hand from her arm, tears running down her face. 

“No, no, no-” she choked out.

“Zoe,” he whispered softly. The small calls of protest stopped, but her shoulders still shook and tears ran down her face. Slowly, he reached out to caress her arm again. She pushed him away, whimpering.

“No, no, Kyle, no, no-” She rocked back and forth, crying, and he sat next to her, waiting.

“Zoe?” his voice was gentle, worried. “Zoe, what did you see?”

“… Hell…” she choked out between sobs. He remembered. _Kept breaking up… Endless loop… Kept saying that he didn’t love me…_

“Zoe, I’m right here. I love you. I’m never going to break up with you, I promise. I love you, I love you, I-”

“I lied!” she burst out, winding her arms tighter around her knees. “My hell was me- was me- was me-” she choked on the words and burst out into loud sobs. Slowly, he let his hand rest on her arm. She didn’t resist. He slowly slid it across her shoulders and wrapped himself around her. She put her head on his chest and cried, wrapping her arms over his shoulders. When her sobs had slowed, she choked out softly, “My hell was us h-h-having sex, and then- and then you started bleeding. Your n-n-nose and your eyes and your ears. You were twitching, seizing up. You were d-d-dying. I killed you. A-a-again. And we couldn’t bring you back. You were limp on me, Kyle, and the b-b-blood-” His arms tightened around her. “It was all my fault, Kyle,” she whimpered, sounding like a child. “Everything that’s happened to you. It’s my fault. I _k-k-killed_ you. I brought you back in pieces, shattered, broken. And then I left you with your mother. I tried to kill you ag-g-gain.”

“I’m so sorry, Kyle. I’m so sorry,” she cried.

“Shhh,” he whispered comfortingly in her ear. “It’s not your fault. Not at all. I love you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She could feel his lips trace over her ear with each word, each puff of breath carrying reassurances.

“But I _did_ ,” she whimpered.

“No, you did what you thought was _right_. And look at us now. We’re here, together, with our happy love.” She nodded into his chest. “You didn’t hurt me.” She nodded again. “I love you.” There was a pause. “I love you, I love you, I love you-” he continued, an endless string of words of comfort. The murmurs grew soft, little whispers of breath as he slowly began to rock her back and forth like a child.

“I love you, too.” The whisper was quiet, muffled by the shirt, but he heard her. And so they sat there for a few minutes as her sobs died down, as she regained her calm. Suddenly, she could feel a light smirk play across his lips, still pressed to her ear.

“Is that why you’ve been shying away?” he teased, kissing the arch of her ear and slowly making his way down her neck.

“Mn-hmnh,” she mumbled, pressing herself tighter to him and burying her face in his shirt.

“Are you still scared?” The whisper was softer, more careful than the one before.

“Mn-hmnh.” A little softer this time, a little slower. Her grip was looser, but her weight was slowly leaning more and more on him.

“Then I can wait.” A kiss on her collarbone, a kiss on the hollow of her throat. Her breathing grew steadier and slower. A kiss on her cheek, a kiss on her forehead. “I’d wait forever, for you.”

Kyle Spencer shifted his sleeping girlfriend back under the covers and held her close as he followed her into a peaceful slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Cordelia addressed the coven, all thirty-seven girls ranging from ages five to eighteen. A few nineteen to twenty-five year-olds had checked in as witches, also, but were going to communicate with the coven online due to college classes and having to run their own lives. They crowded the main entry room and the bottom of the stairs as the Supreme spoke from where the two stairways met.

“Ladies.” The room instantly went silent. “Thank you.” With a smile, she looked around the room. “Our immediate application process is complete, and you are all accepted into Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.” Various cheers came from the girls, but soon quieted. “Today and the weekend will be your time to transition into your new home and your new lifestyle. You may explore the grounds, but if you wish to practice any powers that may have any potential to harm yourselves or anyone else, please come speak to myself, Queenie, or Zoe. This also goes for trips outside of the school grounds.” She took a deep breath. _I still have their attention,_ she reassured herself. “It has also been brought to my attention that our assistant, Mr. Spencer,” she said, nodding at Kyle, “may need assistance with the cooking and general cleaning. Thus, today I will create a chores list. This is part of living at the Academy, and I expect you all to comply. If there is anyone who enjoys cooking and would like to volunteer to help there, it would be appreciated if you would talk to me after you are dismissed.” Cordelia looked around at the coven around her. “I believe that is all. Thank you, you are dismissed for the day.”

Zoe breathed out a long sigh of relief. Cordelia had kept the girls’ attention and seemed to have everyone under control. Glancing back at the Supreme, who was talking to a small crowd of the girls, she smiled and headed to the garden.

She found him near the roses, staring out at the sky as the day brightened. Sitting down next to him, she folded her hands and steadied her nerves.

“… Kyle?” she finally managed to stutter out. His eyes tore themselves away from the clouds and fixated on her. “About last night… I-” He shook his head and cut her off.

“It’s okay. You’re scared.” She nodded, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“I’m sorry.” His head tilted as he looked at her, searching for answers.

“For what?”

“For not telling you earlier. For shying away without giving you any reason. For-” Her voice cut off. In a much softer whisper, “I’m sorry. I love you.” Smiling, he leaned over and kissed her where her nose was peeking out over her knees.

“I love you, too.” Suddenly, he grinned. “We have the day off, don’t we?” Zoe looked up, puzzled.

“I-I guess…”

“Then let’s go out. Have some fun. C’mon,” he said, standing and lifting her up, bridal style, as she squealed in surprise, “Let’s be normal for once.” Laughing, she agreed and he carried her into the house to get ready.

* * *

 

They went out to lunch at a riverside café and joked, laughed, and talked. They went walking through a park, holding hands and feeding each other bites of pastry. They did simple, fun, mundane things, and Zoe couldn’t help but think, _normal is pretty fun_.

They got back home at ten, just when they promised Cordelia they would be. The girl were all in bed, but the kitchen was a mess. Kyle promised to meet her upstairs when he was done, so she went to the bedroom and began to get ready for bed.

“Zoe?” asked a little voice from the bathroom door.

“Ida, it’s past lights-out” she responded, wiping make-up from her face. “You need to go back to bed.”

“But Nana is here.” Zoe froze, and Ida’s small steps grew closer. “Nana wants to speak with you. Give me your hand, Zoe.” Slowly, she dried her hands and held one out to her side. Small fingers wrapped around her middle and ring fingers. Suddenly, Nan was sitting on the edge of the bath tub.

“Nan,” Zoe breathed softly. “I can’t believe it.”

“Oh, it’s true, alright, Zoe. This is your bathroom, now, isn’t it? Used to be Fiona’s. She drowned me here, but Papa Legba took me to a nicer place.” She glanced around. “The Papa isn’t too bad. He gave me an afterlife where I get to spend eternity with Luke. I guess he treats the sacrificed well.”

“Nan, what are you doing here?”

“Came to see you. And Queenie, if you don’t mind sacrificing your bathroom for a touch later. But I came to warn you. Fiona and the Voodoo Queen thought they had chopped off the head of the snake, but they got the false one. The one that was set up to _look_ like the head. Hell, they even thought that they _were_ the head!” She shook her own head. “But they’re not. War and hell is coming, Zoe, and the Papa is getting ready to collect souls. Get ready. Get the girls ready. Get the coven ready, because you’re in for hell.”

Zoe couldn’t talk. She was too struck by this, too taken aback. Her jaw was hanging just ever so slightly slack.

“Now could you bring Queenie? I owe her a talk.” Little hands released their grip on Zoe’s and Nan vanished.

“Nan!” Zoe cried, grabbing the small girl’s hand again. Nan was gone. Ida’s round face stared up at her.

“My Papa said one conversation per person. Nana needs to talk to Queenie, now. Can I bring her?”

“Go ahead,” whispered the shell-shocked council member, and the little girl skipped out of the room. Suddenly, something struck her. “Wait!” she cried, and the sprightly girl stopped at the door. “Ida, you said _your_ papa.”

“Mama made a deal. She called it a deal with the devil, but Papa isn’t a devil. Nor is he an angel. He just _is_.” A figure stepped out of the shadows and placed a hand on the child’s shoulder. “Papa was always kinder to me than Mama. He told me he made me for the Coven. And he made Mama bring me here. So here I am. And Papa is with me.” The white-painted face smiled, and Zoe gaped.

“O-o-okay, Ida, you can go get Queenie. I just need to talk to your Papa really quickly.” The little girl ran off, but the large black figure stayed.

“Ah-h-h-h, hello, _pitit_. How nice it is to see you.”

“I saw you in Hell.” Zoe’s voice was cold, hard, concealing her emotions. It was her expression that gave her away, her teeth clenched and lips pulled back in a snarl.

“ _Pitit_ , I am a being of the Underworld. Good or bad. _Bon oubyen move_ ,” he said, smile on his lips and hands spread in a welcoming gesture.

“Then why did I only see black when I was dead?” The figure laughed, a big, booming laugh that made her skin crawl.

“Ah, the Papa knows. I knew you would be brought back, _pitit_ , and so you did not go to the final place. You were simply… waiting.” She took a deep breath.

“One last question. Why did you make Ida?” The Papa’s brow furrowed.

“You are worried for the _pitit_. My _pitit_. Now, see, I have always wanted a daughter-”

“Bullshit,” snapped Zoe. “She said you made her for the Coven.” The Papa grinned, like he was watching a dog perform a trick. Like she was something cute and amusing.

“Ah-h-h, you are a clever lass, _entelijan dam_. Ye-e-e-es I made the _pitit_ for the Coven. You will need her soon. As your friend Nan so lovely put it, _lagè ak lanfè ap vini_ , war and hell is coming.” His yellow eyes bored into the witch’s. “I have become fond of this Coven. You are most interesting to contact. And I would be _ever_ so bored if you were wiped out.” He turned his back to Zoe, walking towards the wall.

“Remember, _pitit_ , _lagè ak lanfè ap vini_ , war and hell is coming.”

He walked through the wall and was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Twenty minutes later, Queenie came storming out of the bathroom.

“We need a meeting. Now.”

Three quick, sharp raps on the Supreme’s door alerted her to her council’s presence.

“Girls. What is it?” She took a better look at their stony faces. “Oh no. Come in.” The two girls stepped into the room, and Queenie was the first to speak.

“We got a problem.”

“Nan visited us, for a short while,” added Zoe, hoping to clarify a little.

“Nan,” whispered Cordelia, almost lost in thought. “Is she alright?” she continued in a louder voice.

“She’s fine,” replied Queenie, “but we ain’t.”

“What do you mean?” Queenie started to reply, but Zoe held up a hand.

“Ida came to me and took me to Nan. She told me, exactly, ‘war and hell is coming’. Fiona thought she killed off the witch hunters, but she got the false head. The bait, what they use to lure us out. So we have to be ready.” Cordelia slowly raised a hand to her forehead. Three long, slow breaths passed.

“And I thought we were done with this shit.” Her voice was barely a mutter, but the girls heard it loud and clear in the silence of the nighttime. “We need to get the youngest ones out. We need to get them to somewhere safe. Talk to the older ones, see if they want to fight. Train them _to_ fight.” There was a swift pause as their minds spun through the option, but Zoe spoke first.

“Those kids aren’t going to be safe if we just send them away, Cordelia. They’re witches, and if they’re on their own they’re going to be hunted down _first_.”

“Bitch’s right,” agreed Queenie, glancing at the two of them. “We train all of these girls to fight, and if we need to, we’ll hide them. But we aren’t sending ‘em away. Look at what happened to Marie’s shop! Small number of witches, boom, dead!”

“Quieter, Queenie,” Cordelia reminded her from behind her hands. They were pressed together, index fingertips at the bridge of her nose, creating a small chamber where her words echoed.

“There’s more, too.” The other two witches looked up at Zoe as she leaned back on the edge of a desk. “I saw Papa Legba.” Queenie’s eyes widened a tiny bit. “We spoke, and he basically reaffirmed what Nan said and some new information.” She took deep breath.

“Ida is his daughter. She was created for the Coven, to help aid this war.” She paused, waiting for the information to sink in. “And she knows all of this.”

There was a stillness that seemed to go on for all eternity and no time at all.

Then Kyle nearly burst down the door.

* * *

 

Moving smooth and swift as a breeze, the Supreme extended an arm and froze the door in place before it could slam and wake up the rest of the house. With big, long strides the panicked boy swooped over and wrapped Zoe in his arms, burying his face in her hair.

“Wha-” she breathed out quickly, but the Supreme cut her off.

“Kyle, we have tenants now. Please respect that they are sleeping.” The boy removed himself from his still-startled girlfriend, mildly sheepish and apologetic.

“Yeah, sorry.” His hand was still wrapped around her wrist, thumb brushing back and forth over her skin. Cordelia let out a long sigh of exhaustion.

“We should all go to bed. We can deal with this in the morning.” The younger witches nodded and stepped out the door, feeling it click shut behind them with no touch.

“See you in the morning,” mumbled Queenie, walking off to her own bedroom. As she faded into the darkness, Zoe turned to the boy still stroking her wrist.

“Kyle, what on earth was that?” she hissed, her voice an urgent whisper.

“Our room smells like death and you were gone. I jumped to the nearest logical conclusion.” She let a small sigh escape her lips.

“We just got a little visit from the Papa.” Kyle’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’ll tell you more about it in the morning. I promise. But we need to get to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be crazy.” He nodded, and with a slight smile, swooped her up into his arms, bridal style. She let out a quiet laugh and looped her arms around his neck, leaning up against his chest.

She felt the soft bouncing motions as they went over the stairs and as they got to the doorway, made the door swing open of its own accord. _Kyle was right. It does smell like death in here_ , she thought as they made their way into the room. Before they could make it all the way in, even, the window was open and there was a light breeze removing the stench. The door clicked shut behind them as he laid her down in bed, kissing her gently. She smiled as he broke off the kiss and propped herself up on her forearms to kiss him again.

“Bedtime,” he whispered softly against her lips. She murmured in agreement and slid under the covers, lifting them so that he could join her. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “One second, silly.” She dropped the edge of the covers and curled up to wait as he changed into bedclothes. Soon, she felt him slide into bed behind her, throwing an arm over her and pulling her close.

“Kyle?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?” His breath was a soft puff against her ear.

“Do you think we’re going to be okay?”

“Zoe, I promise to keep you safe. I love you.” She turned over so they were nose to nose.

“But Kyle, it’s not just about me. What if you get hurt? What if they try to kill you, too?” She took a shaky breath. “What if I can’t bring you back?” He kissed her lightly on the nose.

“You can. You will. I know it.” She nodded and curled up with her head to his chest, and they slept like that, holding each other close.


End file.
